Free · No login required # ISO 14083 CO₂ Calculator Calculate the well-to-wheel (WTW) greenhouse-gas emissions of a shipment the way ISO 14083 prescribes: per leg of the transport chain, from tonne-kilometres and GLEC default factors, or from the fuel and energy your vehicle actually used. ## Calculation method Weight × distance × the GLEC default intensity per vehicle type. Use this when you don't know the fuel consumption, e.g. for subcontracted legs. ## Shipment Shipment weight (tonnes) Gross weight of the goods, packaging included. Accepts decimals, e.g. 0.8 for 800 kg. ## Transport chain Leg 1 Mode Distance (km) Vehicle type Planned route distance. The GLEC road factors already include the +5 % distance adjustment and average empty running. Temperature-controlled (+12 %) Leg 2 Mode Distance (km) Vehicle type Rail distance between the terminals. Temperature-controlled (+12 %) ## Hubs and terminals (optional) Transshipment, storage and terminal handling are part of the chain too. GLEC gives default medians per tonne handled, or per container for intermodal terminals. Well-to-wheel emissions 382.8 kg CO₂e 15,400 tonne-km over the whole chain ## Emissions breakdown Well-to-tank (WTT, energy supply)195.6 kg Tank-to-wheel (TTW, operation)187.2 kg Well-to-wheel (WTW)382.8 kg Intensity24.9 g/tkm ## Per transport chain element 1\. Tractor-trailer 34–40 t, diesel242.4 kg · 63% 2\. Freight train, electric140.4 kg · 37% ## ISO 14083 default emission factors (g CO₂e per tonne-km) The default intensities this calculator uses, from the GLEC Framework v3.2 for Europe. WTT is the energy supply chain, TTW the vehicle's own emissions, WTW the sum that ISO 14083 reports. | Mode and vehicle | WTT | TTW | WTW | | ------------------------------------------------- | ---- | ----- | ----- | | Road | | | | | Van up to 3.5 t, diesel | 195 | 647 | 842 | | Rigid truck 3.5–7.5 t, diesel | 78.0 | 258 | 335 | | Rigid truck 7.5–12 t, diesel | 52.0 | 172 | 223 | | Rigid truck 12–20 t, diesel | 44.0 | 147 | 191 | | Rigid truck 20–26 t, diesel | 32.0 | 107 | 137 | | Rigid truck 26–32 t, diesel | 29.0 | 96.0 | 125 | | Tractor-trailer 34–40 t, diesel | 23.0 | 78.0 | 101 | | Tractor-trailer 40–44 t, diesel | 21.0 | 69.0 | 89.0 | | Long heavy vehicle (LHV) up to 60 t, diesel | 16.0 | 54.0 | 70.0 | | Tractor-trailer 34–40 t, LNG | 32.0 | 73.0 | 105 | | Tractor-trailer 34–40 t, bio-LNG | 35.0 | 3.0 | 38.0 | | Van up to 3.5 t, electric \* | 401 | 0.0 | 401 | | Rigid truck 3.5–7.5 t, electric \* | 147 | 0.0 | 147 | | Rigid truck 12–20 t, electric \* | 73.5 | 0.0 | 73.5 | | Truck 26–40 t, electric \* | 53.4 | 0.0 | 53.4 | | Rail | | | | | Freight train, diesel | 7.1 | 23.6 | 30.7 | | Freight train, electric | 10.8 | 0.0 | 10.8 | | Freight train, traction unknown (EU average) | — | — | 18.4 | | Inland waterway | | | | | Motor vessel under 50 m | 17.8 | 59.2 | 77.1 | | Motor vessel 50–80 m | 7.9 | 26.1 | 33.9 | | Motor vessel 85–110 m | 4.9 | 16.4 | 21.4 | | Motor vessel 135 m | 5.0 | 16.7 | 21.8 | | Coupled convoy 163–185 m | 4.6 | 15.1 | 19.7 | | Tanker vessel | 5.7 | 19.0 | 24.7 | | Container vessel 110 m | 6.8 | 22.5 | 29.3 | | Container vessel 135 m | 5.2 | 17.4 | 22.6 | | Sea (container) | | | | | Container ship, industry average † | — | — | 7.2 | | Container ship, industry average, reefer † | — | — | 14.2 | | Container ship, within North Europe (short sea) † | — | — | 17.3 | | Container ship, within North Europe, reefer † | — | — | 28.6 | | Container ship, within the Mediterranean † | — | — | 16.0 | | Container ship, North Europe – Mediterranean † | — | — | 10.8 | | Container ship, Asia – North Europe † | — | — | 4.7 | | Container ship, Asia – North Europe, reefer † | — | — | 11.1 | | Container ship, trans-Atlantic † | — | — | 9.0 | | Air | | | | | Air cargo under 1,500 km, aircraft type unknown | 234 | 1,129 | 1,363 | | Air cargo 1,500 km or more, aircraft type unknown | 135 | 653 | 788 | | Freighter under 1,500 km | 261 | 1,255 | 1,516 | | Freighter 1,500 km or more | 105 | 503 | 608 | | Belly cargo (passenger aircraft) under 1,500 km | 213 | 1,026 | 1,239 | | Belly cargo (passenger aircraft) 1,500 km or more | 161 | 775 | 936 | \* Battery-electric: kWh per tonne-km × the EU average grid (334 g CO₂e/kWh), all of it upstream. † Sea: per TEU-km ÷ 10 t per TEU. Road values assume average load with empty running and 100 % fossil diesel; temperature-controlled transport adds 12 % (vans 15 %). Air excludes radiative forcing. ## ISO 14083 and well-to-wheel CO₂: frequently asked questions ### What is ISO 14083? ISO 14083:2023 is the international standard for quantifying and reporting the greenhouse-gas emissions of freight transport chains. It covers every mode (road, rail, inland waterway, sea and air) plus hubs such as warehouses and terminals, and it always counts well-to-wheel emissions in CO₂ equivalents. The GLEC Framework of the Smart Freight Centre is the practical guide that implements it and publishes the default factors used on this page. ### What is the difference between well-to-wheel, well-to-tank and tank-to-wheel? Tank-to-wheel (TTW) is what the vehicle itself emits while driving. Well-to-tank (WTT) is everything before that: extracting, refining, transporting and distributing the fuel or generating the electricity. Well-to-wheel (WTW) is the sum. ISO 14083 requires WTW, so an electric truck is not zero: its emissions sit in the WTT part. ### How do I calculate the CO₂ emissions of a shipment? Split the shipment into legs, one per vehicle, and multiply each leg's tonne-kilometres by an emission intensity. Example: 20 tonnes over 500 km in a 40-tonne diesel tractor-trailer is 10,000 tonne-km × 101 g CO₂e = 1,010 kg CO₂e well-to-wheel. Add any hubs on the way and sum everything for the whole transport chain. ### Should I use default factors or my own fuel data? ISO 14083 prefers primary data: the fuel or energy your vehicles actually used, allocated to shipments by tonne-kilometres. Default factors such as GLEC's are the fallback when you don't have that data, for example for subcontracted legs. Always state which you used; many reports mix both. ### How much CO₂ does a truck emit per tonne-kilometre? By GLEC's European defaults, a 34–40 t diesel tractor-trailer at average load emits 101 g CO₂e per tonne-km well-to-wheel, a 12–20 t rigid truck 191 g and a diesel van 842 g. For comparison: an electric freight train 10.8 g, an 85–110 m inland vessel 21.4 g and long-haul air freight 788 g. ### Are electric trucks zero-emission under ISO 14083? At the tailpipe yes, but not well-to-wheel. The emissions of generating the electricity count in full. A 26–40 t electric truck uses about 0.16 kWh per tonne-km; on the EU average grid (334 g CO₂e/kWh) that is about 53 g per tonne-km, roughly half of a diesel truck, and lower still on low-carbon grids. ### How much CO₂ does HVO100 save? It depends on the feedstock. GLEC's European default for HVO100 is 1.01 kg CO₂e per litre well-to-wheel, against 3.31 kg for B7 pump diesel: a cut of about 70 %. HVO made only from waste such as used cooking oil scores lower still. ISO 14083 prefers the certified value on your supplier's proof of sustainability; enter it as a custom factor. ### Can I use these figures for CSRD or Scope 3 reporting? Yes, as an estimate. Freight is Scope 3 (GHG Protocol categories 4 and 9) for the shipper and Scope 1 for a carrier that owns the trucks. The default factors are accepted under ISO 14083, but auditors and customers increasingly want per-shipment figures from real fuel and trip data, which is what a TMS produces. [What CSRD means for transport emissions →](/en/glossary/csrd) **Method.** Emissions are calculated per transport chain element (one vehicle or one hub) and summed, following ISO 14083:2023\. Factors are in CO₂ equivalents (IPCC AR6 GWP100) and come from the GLEC Framework v3.2 for Europe; grid electricity per country from EcoTransIT World (consumption mix, 2021). Results are estimates: actual emissions depend on load, route, driving and the vehicle itself. Sources: [GLEC Framework v3.2](https://smart-freight-centre-media.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/GLEC%5FFRAMEWORK%5Fv3.2%5F21%5F10%5F25%5F1.pdf) · [EcoTransIT World 2025](https://www.ecotransit.org/wp-content/uploads/EcoTransIT%5FWorld%5FMethodology%5FReport%5FVersion%5F4%5FISO14083.pdf) · [ISO 14083:2023](https://www.iso.org/standard/78864.html). Factors checked on September 28, 2026. CO₂e per shipment, automatically? Transportial calculates well-to-wheel CO₂e for every trip from your own vehicles and routes, and reports it per customer under ISO 14083, GLEC or EN 16258. [See Transportial →](https://portal.otms.transportial.com/auth/register) [← Back to all free tools](/en/tools) --- Canonical page: https://transportial.com/en/tools/co2-calculator